Topband: Improving the Fabulous CQ 160 Contest

[Ed K1EP]

At 1/7/2009 10:11 AM, Herbert Schoenbohm wrote:


>(3) My only objection has been the disproportionate advantage 10 point
>advantage that Caribbean stations located along the SA coast, only 350 miles
>south of me, have over other Caribbean and Central American stations. There
>is little chance when you have to take a 5 point reduction for NA stations
>when all other conditions are almost exactly the same.  In fact the distance
>from, lets say P4 in Aruba, is closer to the midwest and western stations.
>Yet they get twice the points for a W/VE mainland contact.  I know it isn't
>fair, and I can't ever win any top slots under those circumstances. But that
>is the way the contest was set up by its founder and I still think it is the
>best.  The same  disadvantage is true for C4 and EA8 which works NA stations
>and Europe for 10 pointers while Europeans are catching mostly
>intracontinental 5 pointers. We just need to work twice as hard to compete.

The same holds true for VE-W QSOs.  They are worth 5 points vs. the 2 
point W-W or VE-VE QSOs.  There are a disproportionate higher number 
of W entries than VE entries.  Considering that a majority of the VE 
population is close to a W border, VE scores will usually be at least 
twice as high as W scores for comparable QSO count and distance.